"I'm sure Jeremiah would make the same choice again if he had to. He loves you, Glory."
"He called me his friend." Not crying. Not crying. I breathed through the urge.
"Do we not love our friends?" Flo put out her hand and pulled me to my feet.
"Yes, we do." I gave her a quick hug. "Thanks again. For healing me."
"Anytime. But not soon, okay?" Flo was suddenly all business. "Let's head downstairs. Let everyone see our heroine, especially the handsome men. Jeremiah and Damian will be worrying."
Flo took my arm and guided me past the bed and out the door. I was getting my second wind, thanks to two glasses of Fangtastic. Heroine? Had to love that. But then I saw Blade standing at the foot of the stairs. He wasn't overjoyed. He'd missed his chance at Westwood. Because of me.
Tony Crapetta hovered anxiously near the door to the porch. "Get out your money, Jerry. Tony, I'm ready for that dance."
"Money?" I heard Damian ask. "I'll dance with you, Gloriana, for free." I looked Damian over. The sheets on the coffin bed had been rumpled. Had he been a busy boy tonight? Not worth thinking about. Of course I didn't really want to dance. But I had to get out of there. I pulled Tony outside. At least he managed a credible two-step, though I could tell from reading his mind that he was pretty confused by all the weird shit going on around him. Flying vamps, flaming stakes and hot women asking him to dance. Too bad he wasn't allowed to tell anyone about Damian's parties.
Yes, I was hot, flaming as a matter of fact. But when the music ended, I was running down, big time. Adrenaline can take you only so far.
"Thanks for the dance, Tony." Valdez had stayed close, right on the edge of the dance floor. At least he'd been blessedly silent in front of Crapetta.
"Sure, Miss Gloriana. You look a little… tired. How about we go in here and see the show?"
"Sure." Here was the third tent. I collapsed on a chair facing the stage set at one end. The Wizard I'd seen earlier was doing some pretty amazing things with his magic wand. A frog hopped out of a shifter's low-cut bodice and I wondered if Froggie could be the same one who'd been Prince Charming in tent one. Probably. Queen Liz sat front and center, staring a hole in the wizard as she quietly shredded the pleated ruff she'd ripped off her own neck.
" Kenneth is here." Flo's voice whispered inside my head. " Join us in the library if you feel up to it." Did I feel up to it? Not really. But I had to know if Kenneth had killed Margie. I murmured an excuse to Tony and got up, Valdez on my heels. I headed for the house and remembered the way to the library even though I'd never actually been there except in Damian's warped imagination. I stepped inside and shut the door behind me.
Kenneth stood in front of the fireplace. He'd gone for a Rhett Butler look tonight. His chin was up but he was looking anywhere but at the vamps confronting him.
Diana, Scarlett O'Hara in red taffeta to his Rhett, sat in a chair close by. Her face was pale and streaked with tears. Obviously she and Kenneth had something going. Since before Margie's death?
"How can you accuse him of hurting Marguerite? Where is your proof?" She wiped her wet cheeks with shaking hands.
"We don't need proof, Diana." Richard Mainwaring stood beside Flo. "All Kenneth need do is tell us he didn't do it and this will be forgotten."
"Tell them, Kenny." Diana jumped up and ran to his side. Or as close as she could get in a hoop skirt. "Tell them you didn't do it. You said you and Margie had an open relationship. That she didn't care if you and I had an affair." She stared up at him, obviously didn't like what she saw and stepped back. "Say you didn't kill her."
"I…" He held out his hand to Diana but she shook her head. "Diana, please."
"Not until you tell everyone here that you didn't kill Margie."
Kenneth dropped his hand and looked wildly around the room. "Damn it, Mainwaring, get out of my head. You too, Blade." Hmm. I looked at Richard. He was definitely concentrating. Blade was on the other side of the room, obviously very intent on Kenneth too. I didn't bother. I'd had enough mental gymnastics for one night.
Kenneth pressed his hands to his eyes. "Florence, stop it! All of you! Just stop it!"
"We know the truth now, Kenneth, so don't bother to deny it. Why? Why did you kill Marguerite?" Flo stepped up and poked him in the chest.
"She wouldn't let me go!" Ken's eyes blazed and Diana gasped. "She treated me like her chattel. She made me so she owned me." He looked at Flo. "I'm a man. Oh, yes, she gave me permission to have affairs. Permission." He ran his hands through his short cropped hair. "And she took her own lovers. But I always had to belong to her. Body and soul."
"Liar. You wanted her money. You could have left her at any time. But with only the clothes on your back." Flo looked like a vengeful goddess in Kevlar, her bright yellow targets quivering with her rage.
"Marguerite didn't treat me fairly. I'd earned what I asked for. But she laughed at me." Kenneth looked around the room. If he was looking for sympathy, he was out of luck. For some reason his gaze fixed on me.
"You understand, Gloriana. You left Blade and look how hard it's been. You have to work, sell used clothes, for God's sake." My well of sympathy for Kenny's plight had just run dry. "I make an honest living, Kenneth. I'll never be ashamed of that." Kenneth realized he was done for. Diana had crossed the room to get away from him. Blade had his hand on his sword and Flo and Mainwaring looked ready to rip Kenneth apart. With a cry, Kenneth ran past me to the door. I started to make a grab for him and Valdez snarled.
"Let him go." Mainwaring looked at me then at each one in the room. "This is over and he knows it. I'll take care of it." He kissed Flo's cheek and silently left the room.
Diana slumped in a chair. Flo went to her side and pulled her to her feet. "Did I ever tell you about my lover in Budapest? He had a Spanish wife, but because he was tired of her, he didn't bother to tell me she existed." Flo pulled Diana out of the room, chattering away about lovers, gypsy curses and a Lipizzan stallion.
I locked eyes with Blade, aware that Valdez had left us alone together.
"Quite an evening." I know. Inane. But I was running on empty. Too much had happened. I'd almost died. And, while the vamp magic is cool, it takes a lot out of you.
"I can't believe he killed Marguerite." Blade was beside me and took my hand. "I know he loved her once."
"Once." I felt his rough hand cradling mine. He handled me carefully. Always. And gave me my freedom, though I know he'd hated to, control freak that he is. We were friends. Hopefully always would be. As for lovers—
"Jeremiah, there you are. I've looked everywhere." Mara stood in the doorway. Cleopatra. Complete with asp twined around her neck. The silk toga, which left one shoulder bare, could have been painted on her slim body. Her makeup gave her eyes an exotic slant that was positively mesmerizing.
Bitch. She was doing the whammy on me. To get me out of the way? I threw up a block, though it zapped the last of my waning strength.
"Nice costume, Mara." The asp moved. Okay. It was real. "Bet you win the contest."
"I don't care about that. Tell me what happened with Westwood. All the vampires are talking about how brave Jeremiah was. That he drew blood." She grabbed his arm. "How did Westwood get away? Surely you didn't let him go to save her." Her. Me. Glory, not glorious, with my bent tail, horns lost God knows where and Damian's silk shirt in lieu of the scorched lace on my bustier. I was obviously a nonstarter in Mara world.
"He escaped because I lost my concentration, Mara. I'm sorry." Blade was staring at me. He didn't blame me for his lost concentration, did he? He shook his head and touched my hand. "A whole bloody forest could catch fire and I should still be able to get the job done." He turned back to Mara. "We'll get him another night. I promise."
"Glory, cara. You need this." Damian appeared in the doorway and handed me yet another goblet of Fangtastic. By now I was positively swimming in the stuff, but I took a token sip.
"Thanks." I set the glass on a nearby table. "And thanks for the shirt. I'll have it cleaned and return it to you."
"Keep it." Damian took my arm. "I still haven't shown you my dungeon."
"Another night, Damian." I looked down at Valdez. "What say we go home, puppy? I think I've had all the excitement I can stand for one night."
"But we haven't had the surprise yet." Damian eased me out the door, ignoring Blade's ominous grumble and Valdez's growl.
"Come outside. Look up."
I stepped out on the terrace. I had to admit the warm Fangtastic and now the cool night air helped clear my head. The band finished a song, then there was a drum roll.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Look to the skies. I give you nature at its finest." Damian made a terrific ringmaster of his own paranormal circus.
The strange and the exotic came out of the tents. Lacy appeared with her werewolf in tow. She looked me over, gave me a hug, then handed me my purse, which she'd found on the lawn.
Showtime. We all gasped as hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of bats flew overhead in perfect formation. They soared and swooped, almost noiseless except for an occasional keening sound. More than one vamp suddenly morphed into bat form and joined them. CiCi snapped her magic wand in two when Tin Man threw off his cap and headed skyward.
"What do you think, Glory?" Damian had his arm around me, an inch away from copping a feel. Hello? Hadn't I been scorched there less than an hour ago?
He nodded toward the sky and the bats formed letters. G.L.O.R.Y. Aw, gee. Was that sweet or what? His fingers fondled my right boob. Oh, what a great guy. He'd been careful to grope my uninjured boob. I stopped him with a look.
